Treating coughing blood

  • Sometimes people can have a problem with coughing blood. This can be frightening and it is important to report it to your doctor.
  • This may be very small amounts and happen when you have a chest infection, or occasionally it can be larger amounts. This may need to be treated urgently and you should seek help if this happens to you.
  • A tablet called tranexamic acid is sometimes used when people are coughing blood.
  • You may have a specific type of scan called pulmonary angiography to look at the blood vessels in the lungs. If there are vessels that can be seen to be the cause of the bleeding then this can be helped by a procedure called embolisation where the blood vessel(s) causing the trouble are blocked off, and occasionally by surgery to remove the area of lung with abnormal vessels and bleeding.
Back to top